The schedule for budget deliberations has been condensed to three sessions, with the Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee report due on April 27.
The CBAC and City Council members will meet on April 12 to discuss budgets of the Police and Fire divisions, which comprise the Department of Public Affairs & Safety. On April 18, the Public Works, Inspections and Recreation divisions within the Department of Public Works & Urban Development will be discussed. On April 26, Information Technology & Media divisions within the Department of Administration, Finance, Health & Social Services will be discussed, along with Economic Development, which falls under the office of the Deputy City Administrator.
April 27 is when the council and public will hear the CBAC Report and feedback. The time for all these meetings is 7 p.m. and the location is the Plainfield Senior Center, 400 E. Front St.
A`special meeting for possible budget amendments will be held at 7 p.m.on Monday, May 2 prior to the agenda-fixing session in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.
On Thursday, May 5, a special 7:30 p.m. meeting will be held at the Senior Center for a public hearing on budget amendments and possible adoption of the 2016 budget.
--Bernice
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Is the CBAC subject to the sunshine rules and have to advertise when they are meeting as a committee?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so, because they are advisory and also a short-term committee. The joint council/CBAC meetings were advertised in a legal notice today in the Courier News.
DeleteHi Bernice,
ReplyDeleteIs this schedule of three meetings the entirety of the budget review meetings? If so, it is a sad for me because nothing of substance has improved since last year in terms of the length of time, the number of departments, and sections of the budget being reviewed. The entire review period is barely longer than 2 weeks and significant areas such as the City debt and the police and fire pension payments aren't on the schedule. Lastly, CBAC has a single day after the last budget review meeting to prepare their report to the City Council.
I keep hoping the CBAC will be given the time and access to truly do all the the things they are chartered to do.
As the old saying goes, we'll have to wait until next year to see if something get better.
Tom Kaercher
Tom, I agree with your comment. The pressure is always on for CBAC to perform their due diligence. However, not enough time is ever allocated. CBAC is then criticized for not doing a thorough job. Will CBAC ever win? I think not!
ReplyDeleteDee Dameron